Our environments are constantly changing, and correspondingly serious problems arise as a result of these changes.\u00a0 There are many serious environmental problems, such as pollution, overpopulation, natural resource depletion, waste disposal.\u00a0 The most important and most talked about problem is global warming, with the associated rise in temperature and sea level.\u00a0\u00a0 This was the main impetus for the United Nations (UN)’s Paris Climate Agreement which was reached in December 12, 2015.<\/p>\n
This article discusses the world’s environmental problems associated with global warming, and the potential disastrous consequences for the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement.<\/p>\n
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Why It Is Urgent to Address Global Warming Environmental Problems Now?<\/strong>\u00a0 The environment of course has always been changing.\u00a0 However, there are two reasons why it is much more important to address the consequences of environmental changes now than say 100 years ago, or even 50 years ago.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Greenhouse Effect:\u00a0 <\/strong>Human activities, especially related to industrialization, produce gases such as carbon dioxide.\u00a0 When such gases are trapped by the earth’s atmosphere, it warms up the surface of the earth.\u00a0 Depending on local geography, the resultant global warming can lead to various adverse consequences, including:<\/p>\n Recent published data from the U.S.’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) state that the frequency of coastal (including our Jersey Shore) flooding from high tides has doubled in the U.S. in just 30 years. [3]\u00a0 Furthermore, this is a universal problem for the whole world, and not just for the U.S.<\/p>\n For example, on July 12, 2017, after months of anticipation, the Larsen C iceberg separated from the Larsen Ice Shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. At 2,200 sq miles (5,800 sq km) it is one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, leaving the Larsen C ice shelf at its smallest extent on record and probably since the last interglacial period 115,000 years ago. [4]<\/p>\n Another example is the heavy monsoon rains during the summer of 2017 resulted in unprecedented flooding in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal that killed at least 1,288 people and affected over 45 million. The floods of 2017 are consistent with the globally observed rainfall trend that indicates heavy rainfall events are getting heavier.\u00a0 This trend has been firmly attributed to climate change. [4]<\/p>\n Global warming triggered the Earth’s third-ever global coral bleaching event, which began in the north Pacific in the summer of 2014, became global in 2015, and extended into a record-breaking 4th calendar year in 2017. (NOAA defines a global coral bleaching event as one apparent in all three ocean basins \u201cacross multiple reefs spanning 100 kilometers or more.\u201d)\u00a0 In the last three decades, 19% of global coral reef area has been lost due to coral bleaching. Global-scale bleaching events were not observed until 1998. [4]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement:\u00a0 <\/strong>The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement within the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to control the increase of the greenhouse effect.\u00a0 After several years of discussion and negotiation, representatives at the 21st Conference of the Parties [5] of the UNFCCC signed the agreement.\u00a0 The long-term goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is to keep the global average temperature to well below 2\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels, and aim to keep it 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels (the current temperature is about 1\u00b0C above the pre-industrial levels). [6]<\/p>\n Essentially all the countries of the world (around 200) have signed the Paris Climate Agreement.\u00a0 For a while Syria and Nicaragua were the only countries who did not sign the agreement, but both Syria and Nicaragua have signed in 2017.\u00a0 Although the Paris Climate Agreement is voluntary with no enforcement power, the hope is that because it is critical to the livelihood of the whole world, various countries in the world will be willing to implement the agreement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Implications for Trump Announcing the U.S. Will Withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement:\u00a0 <\/strong>In June 2017, President Trump announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. [7]\u00a0 This is an issue that has tremendous impact for the U.S. and the world, with implications for the health and livelihood of our children and grandchildren, as well as more generations to come.\u00a0 It is one of very few issues that have essentially the whole world in agreement of its importance.\u00a0 It is an issue that is solidly based on science.\u00a0 Yet, without even seriously consulting those scientists or his own scientific staff, Trump made his decision.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Perhaps the following can explain his action.<\/p>\n Coal tycoon Bob Murray was an early campaign supporter of Trump and also a major GOP political donor.\u00a0 In a series of letters dated to March 28, 2017, Bob Murray told Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt that Trump should issue an executive order to exit the Paris Climate Agreement, which was exactly what Trump did three months later. [8]\u00a0 Such action would remove the requirement that coal-fired electric generators would need to take action for comply with the agreement, and mean millions, or even billions, of dollars for the coal industry.\u00a0 The article also pointed out the role played by now-EPA Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who then worked as Murray’s lobbyist.<\/p>\n This is just another example of Trump’s priority, which is to himself, his family, his financial empire, and his financial supporters. What is important to the people of the U.S., the people of the world, or the health of own planet is really not important to him.\u00a0 This is what we currently have as the President of the U.S.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Summary:\u00a0 <\/strong>Population increase and industrialization across the globe are creating more and more environmental challenges to the world.\u00a0 Challenges such as global warming are affecting the whole world.\u00a0 The increase in the world’s average temperature will have tremendous impacts on the livelihood in many localities across the globe.\u00a0 If we don’t take appropriate actions now, these problems could become insurmountable 50, 100 years from now.\u00a0 These insurmountable problems will be faced by our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren due to the actions or in-actions that our leaders adopt today.\u00a0 The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement is a symbol of hope that the leaders of the world are wise enough to recognize the problem and start to initiate actions to address the problem.\u00a0 Unfortunately, our current president of the U.S., Donald Trump, has already announced that the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1] See, e.g., “How Many People Can Earth Support?”<\/a>\u00a0 Of course, such estimates may not be completely accurate, due perhaps to future unexpected advances in food production, shelter construction, and conversion of salty ocean water to drinkable water.<\/p>\n [2] See, e.g., a 2008 compilation by the Associated Press:\u00a0 https:\/\/public.wsu.edu\/~mreed\/380American%20Consumption.htm<\/a>.\u00a0 Although this 10-year-old compilation is somewhat outdated, especially with respect to the Chinese, the general message is still valid.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, the message is even more urgent.<\/p>\n [3] See, e.g., The Guardian<\/em> article “Flooding from high tides has doubled in the US in just 30 years.” <\/a><\/p>\n [4] See, e.g., the climatenexus<\/em> articlc “2017 Climate Impacts Around the World.”<\/a><\/p>\n [5] A party usually means a country.\u00a0 However, the European Union of 28 countries is only one party in the Paris Climate Agreement.<\/p>\n [6] Actually we don’t have reliable data on what were the pre-industrial temperature levels, since such data became available only after the mid 1850.\u00a0 Climate experts rely on biological or physical archives \u2013 known as “proxies” \u2013 that preserve past temperature (see, e.g., “The Planet’s Temperature Is Rising.”<\/a>)<\/p>\n [7] Under the Paris Climate Agreement, the earliest effective date of withdrawal for the U.S. is November 2020.<\/p>\n\n
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